A glimpse into an alternate history of North America: what life after WWII may have been like if the Nazis had won the war. The Man in the High Castle explores daily life in 1962, fourteen years after the end of a longer Second World War (1939–1948 in this history). The victorious Axis Powers - Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany - are conducting intrigues against each other in North America, specifically in the former U.S., which surrendered to them once they had conquered Eurasia and destroyed the populaces of Africa.

James Poniewozik

The character-building, unfortunately, is far weaker than the world-building. The dialogue is often B-movie grade, and Juliana and Frank, the closest thing the ensemble has to leads, are dull and dour.... That said, I finished six episodes eager to see the last four. High Castle is at least addictive as a mystery.

Alex McCown

For a show so saturated with angry, volatile men (and it’s almost all men, here), there’s an awful lot of brooding. But the actors are so strong, and the world they’ve created so lived-in, the show can get away with some of these early missteps.

Mary McNamara

David Wiegand

The show’s first episode sets the scene, but only hints at the richness of detail that informs future episodes. It’s not just that we learn things about the various characters we probably didn’t suspect at the outset: The genius of the series is how Spotnitz and his creative team carefully advance the thought-provoking thematic elements through stunning attention to detail.

Matt Roush

Alan Sepinwall

The pacing is wobbly, and while the actors all seem period-appropriate (Davalos, whose previous series was TNT's '40s crime drama "Mob City," is a graceful acting time traveler), the only character who really comes to life as more than a functionary of the plot is one of Spotnitz's creations: Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell).... Still, the world itself is fascinating and fully-realized enough to compensate for the people who live there.

Ellen Gray

The Man in the High Castle has no trouble building and maintaining tension. Honestly, it gave me nightmares. Missing, or at least muted a bit in the four episodes I've seen, though, was the sense I had from the book of how life, and even personality, could be shaped by occupation over time, rendering resistance less and less likely.

Maureen Ryan

Matthew Gilbert

These shortcomings [acting by Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, and story continuity] don’t ruin The Man in the High Castle, even if they prevent the drama from rising to a more rarified status. It’s a compelling addition to this year’s already long list of worthwhile TV shows.

Matt Zoller Seitz

What it delivers is something more along the lines of Boardwalk Empire, where the main draw is suspense and bursts of gunfire and torture, undergirded by the low-level dread that comes from not being able to trust most of the characters when they tell you who they are and what side they’re loyal to, and wondering when, not if, the other shoe will drop.

David Sims

Bruce Miller

Directed by David Semel, the first episode (now available on Amazon) sets a visual tone that immediately sets this apart from other thrillers.... By the second episode, you’ll want to know who’s really good and who’s bad and how the latter will meet their untimely deaths.

Hank Stuever

Although the writing and storytelling in first episode (which Amazon first shared with its Prime customers earlier this year) come off a little clumsily, overall it’s a fascinating launch for an espionage series. The Man in the High Castle is also expertly and realistically imagined.

Isaac Feldberg

Tim Grierson

A compulsively compelling series that grows richer and more emotionally nuanced as it gains momentum, The Man in the High Castle milks its provocative what-if premise for plenty of smart suspense and subtle shading.